Jade Tears
by Library Bum
Summary: Three years after her parents died in a vampire attack, Jade Alden has to face a vampire threat with the help of the Daywalker. That is assuming they don't kill each other first. Ch. 2 is almost done.
1. Chapter 1

Jade Tears

Disclaimer: I don't own Blade; if I did he would be a lot nicer. Lol.

Note: This is a year before the first Blade movie. I decided to change it because I'm doing a sequel, which will be six years after this story. I also made a few small changes.

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Chapter One 

Looking around the small diner she was in, Jade Alden wondered if she had gotten a bad lead. She'd been sitting in a corner booth facing the door for little more then a hour and so far, no one she could identify as a vampire had walked in.

Scowling, she tucked an annoying strand of light blonde hair behind her ear, her pale green eyes scanning the diner again. Her hair was pulled into a thick braid that fell to the middle of her back and she was wearing a baggy pair of blue jeans, a black t-shirt, a large brown coat and tennis shoes.

Sighing, she leaned against the back of the booth and started fiddling with the necklace she was wearing, an eighteen inch silver chain holding a small tear-drop shaped jade pendant. It was a birthday gift from her father when she turned seventeen three years ago, also the night her parents were killed.

After celebrating with her parents that day, Jade had gone roller blading at the skating rink with her friends that night. Pain and anger coursed through her as she remembered what happened when she got home.

Out of habit, she'd glanced into one of the windows and seeing more movement then usual, decided to get a closer look, just in case.

That was when her life fell apart.

There were three men in the living room and her mother was lying on the floor, obviously dead, with her father kneeling over her, crying. Frozen by horror, Jade had watched as one of the men kicked her dad in the side, knocking him into the TV stand. She could hear the other men laughing through the window as one of them kicked him in the face and blood had started flowing from his nose. She remembered one of the men putting his hand on her dad's face where he was bleeding and he licked the blood off when he pulled his hand away. Her dad, in desperation, kicked one of the men in the knees and knocked him over. However, this only seemed to piss the men off, because one of them punched her dad in the face and she heard his neck break from where she was.

At that moment, she heard screaming, but it was only when one of the men looked towards the window that she realized that it was her screaming.

She remembered falling back on the sidewalk, then stumbling to her feet and running as fast as possible away from there, not looking back.

Jade was startled out of her memories when she heard the ball chime, signaling that someone had opened the door of the diner and out of reflex, reached for the handle of one of her sais. It was only an elderly man, though and she relaxed as much as she could, loosening her grip on her weapon.

They were made out of silver plated steel and the handles were woven with dark green and black cloth.

Her mentor, Frank Gunn, had given them to her a month ago, when he thought she was ready for some real-world practice.

She met Gunn, as she fondly called him, two nights after the deaths of her parents. She hadn't eaten for those two days and had taken to sleeping during the day to avoid vampires. That was how he had found her, asleep in an alley behind the building he lived in. He took her in, fed her and was patient with her as she told him her story.

What surprised her, though, was that Gunn had offered to train her to fight them, vampires that is. As it turned out, he had been fighting vampires since his family was killed by them twenty years ago.

"Why would you want to help me?" She had asked and he'd given her a straight answer.

"I lost my family to vampires, too. I know what you're going through and don't see any reason not to help."

She remembered lying awake that night, thinking it over and she decided to do it. She owed it to her parents. Gunn and her had grown close, working as a team for three years now and he became like a grandfather to her. She didn't know what she'd do if she lost him.

Sighing, she looked up as the entrance bell rang again, expecting another normal civilian.

However, she wasn't sure when she saw him. He was a tall black man who was wearing all black and he had some interesting marks on the back of his neck. It was hard to tell if he was a vampire at this distance, but it wasn't like she could jump inside his head and find out for her self. No, that would be to _easy_.

She scowled slightly, agitated at having to wait there so long, because she couldn't stand to sit still for long. It was an issue she had and it always bothered Gunn, because he couldn't stand always moving around. It was the only reason they ever fought.

Sighing, she leaned against the back of the booth and carefully watched the man as he sat down in the corner booth on the other side of the diner. She noted that he looked semi comfortable, as if he didn't like being in public, but had learned to deal with it.

Folding her arms across her chest, Jade kept on hand on the handle of one of her sais and raised an eyebrow as he politely refused a cup of coffee from the waitress that had gone over to check on him. It wasn't exactly a red light, but it was something to think about, just in case.

"Miss?" She looked up to see another waitress looking at her. "Can I get you something?" Thinking for a moment, she realized she _was_ thirsty and smiled politely at the waitress.

"Does this place serve chocolate milk?" She asked and the waitress nodded, jotting it down.

"Alright, I'll be right back." Jade nodded as the waitress walked away. She always preferred chocolate milk to coffee. Hell, she preferred anything to coffee. She never liked the bitter taste of it and couldn't see why people liked it.

Thinking, she turned her gaze back to the man and saw that he had folded his arms across his chest, his eyes closed. There was a pair of sunglasses on the table next to him, obviously put there when she wasn't looking and she knew he knew someone was watching him. She smiled slightly, because not to many people were ever aware of her as she preferred to stay in the background and it was always interesting when someone did notice her. Deciding to take this chance to study him a little better, she had to admit he was attractive. For some reason, his face seemed set in stone when he had came in and it hadn't changed now. It was somewhat intriguing and she had to remind herself that he _could_ be a vampire.

"Miss? Here's your milk." The waitress was back with Jade's glass of milk and she motioned for her to set it down on the table while digging a five out of her pocket. Handing it to the waitress, she smiled slightly.

"Keep the change." Smiling, the waitress walked away and Jade grabbed the glass, taking a long drink. Setting the glass down, she licked the extra milk off her upper lip and looked up. Her heart nearly stopped as she collided with his gaze and faintly noted that he had brown eyes.

Oh, crap.

Startled and a little embarrassed, she looked out the window, mentally cursing as she felt him watching her. Oh yes, this was perfect. Little Jade on the run just because a man had caught her off guard. Yeah, Gunn would just love to hear about this. Damnit.

Suddenly, she noticed movement outside and saw six men surrounding a woman who looked very scared, herding her towards and dark alley.

"Son of a bitch." She hissed, getting out of her seat and walked as fast as she could without running towards the door. There was only one reason for six men to be terrorizing a woman in an alley. They were vampires and she damn near missed them.

Making her way towards the alley, Jade drew both of her sais, intent on helping the woman, unaware of the man from the dinner getting out of his seat and following her.

Reaching the alley, she heard the woman's scared voice.

"Please, leave me alone!" Hoping to take their attention off the woman, she kicked a trash can against a brick wall and all six of the vampires turned to look at her.

"Why don't you boys be nice and let her go?" She said scowling and one of them stepped forward, sneering.

"What are you gonna do about it, sweetheart?" She tensed slightly, getting ready for a fight when they stepped back, suddenly looking afraid and her back suddenly felt warm, like someone was standing behind her.

"It's the Daywalker." One of the other vampires said in a hushed voice and Jade remembered something Gunn had told her about the person in question. However, before she could say anything the vampires took off towards a split in the alley, three going each way. The woman didn't move and Jade motioned for her to leave.

"Go to the diner across the street." She said, pushing the woman in that direction and she ran like hell. Jade turned towards the person the vampires had called the Daywalker and was surprised to see the man from the diner, wearing thesunglasses. Before she could say anything though, he pointed to the alley going left. (A/N Okay, she'll call him 'the Daywalker' until the end of this chapter.)

"Take that alley, I'll get the others." Sighing, she resisted the temptation of a mock salute and ran down the alley.

"They should call him 'General Daywalker'." She said under her breath as she approached the end of the alley and saw two of the vampires, along with a dead end. "Hey boys, don't you hate dead ends?" She asked, grinning and they both sneered at her.

"Little girl, you should go home. You never know what hides in the dark." She scowled, disliking being called a little girl and kicked one of them in the face.

"Not a little girl." She growled, now very angry. "Now, who wants to play?" Both of them rushed her and she stabbed both of them in the heart, watching them disintegrate.

"That was easy." She said, suddenly wondering where the third vampire was and put her sais away. Sighing, she decided to write him off as an escaped and walked back to the alley entrance, where she saw the daywalker leaning against the wall.

"Done so soon?" She asked, sarcastically and he looked at her, scowling. Uh-huh, definitely takes his job to seriously...like she should talk. "Yeah, I got rid of them." She decided to be a little more blunt about it and he nodded.

"Good." Pushing away from the wall, he made likehewas going to leave but something seemed to catch his attention. Jade looked around and saw something run into the alley she was just in. She looked at the Daywalker, questioningly.

"Did you see that too?" She asked and he looked at her as if to say 'No shit, Sherlock'. Shaking her head, she warily stepped into the alley and unsheathed one sai this time. Looking around carefully, she was caught off guard when something grabbed her hair and yanked her backwards. She felt a knife at her throat and the person kept a hold of her hair, while the Daywalker drew an interesting looking gun.

"Put the gun down Daywalker and I'll let her go." It was the vampire she'd wrote off. She was pissed that he'd come back and even more pissed that he was holding her hostage. Noting that he had her in a position to shield his body, she groaned silently and tried to think of a way to get out of this mess. She winced as he gave a sharp tug on her hair and figured that he had it parallel to the ground, which gave her an idea. Thankful that she hadn't dropped her sai, she waited for an opening to put her plan into motion.

"I don't make deals with vampires." She looked up as the Daywalker spoke, noticing he was scowling and guessed he didnr't like being put in these kinds of situations. That was okay, she didn't either. Her captor gave another tug on her hair and she winced slightly.

"To bad, you could have saved her." He said and Jade decided to put her plan into motion. Moving quickly, she swiped her sai behind her head, cutting her hair free. Hearing a scream, she guessed she must have hit his hand as well and with a grin, dove away from him. As soon as she was clear, she heard a gunshot and looked back in time to see the vampire disintegrate.

Relieved, she let herself fall back against the wall of a brick building where the gravity of the situation finally hit her. She could have been killed or bitten. Shivering at both thoughts, she looked towards the Daywalker and saw him glaring at her.

"Thanks." She said quietly and he shook his head.

"You shouldn't be out here, little girl." She looked at him in shock, not believing what she heard and the shock was quickly replaced with anger. Without thinking, she flipped her sai so that she was holding the blade with the tips of her fingers and threw it at the light post he was standing next to. Her brain finally caught up with her movements as he looked at her with surprise and she swore silently, getting to her feet.

She had just picked a fight with someone who could easily kick her ass and because of a strict code of honor, she knew she couldn't back out. He watched her carefully as she got up, probably wondering what her problem was and she glared at him, masking her fear.

"Never call me a little girl." She said, almost growling and he almost smiled.

"You have no idea who you're fucking with." She shrugged and drew her other sai, since she had buried the other one in the light post he was next to and she had a feeling she'd get her ass kicked very quickly if she tried to get it out. To her surprise though, he moved away from the light post and she decided to take a chance. She walked to the light post and with a few tugs, it was out. Turning, she heard a sound that sounded something like metal grinding against a table and saw that he had just drawn a sword.

"Let's get this over with." She said, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach and charged at him. Their blades met with a loud crash and they matched each other blow for blow. As she began to tire, Jade began looking for weaknesses in his defense and surprisingly enough, she found one. Moving as fast as she could, she caught the blade of his sword between her sais and flipped it away from him. Without missing a beat, he kicked a sai out of her left hand and she winced slightly at the force of his kick. Recovering, she aimed her remaining sai at his head and he stepped aside, grabbing her arm and twisted it behind her back, forcing her toone knee and making her let go of her weapon. She gritted her teeth together as she felt her shoulder begin to cramp.

"Had enough?" She heard him ask and tried to break his grip on her arm, only succeeding to twist her arm a little more.

"Fine." She said and he let her go, and then turned her to face him.

"Next time, watch who you fuck with." He said and she scowled, still angry.

"I'll be sure to avoid you from now on." She said dryly, grabbing her sais and keeping a close eye on him as he grabbed his sword, just in case. Putting his sword back in its scabbard, he nodded and started across the street, pausing only to watch for traffic. Watching him go, Jade hoped she would never see him again. She knew she'd have to explain the bruises, along with her new haircut to Gunn and she really wasn't looking forward to it. Sighing, she started in the direction of Gunn's place, trying to push her hair out of her face.

She justhoped he wouldn't ask to many questions.


	2. Chapter 2

**Jade Tears**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Blade.

**Chapter Two**

Luckily, Gunn was asleep when she came in and she had left her jacket on a chair to let him know she had come in.

Jade wasn't looking forward to talking to him that morning, which was probably why she was taking so long to get dressed or maybe it was the problem of her hair. She _had_ managed to make it look decent. It now fell to her shoulders and was a little uneven, but she wasn't really thinking about how it would look when she did cut it.

Now, however, she was trying to figure out a way to put it up so that it would stay out of her face. She had always braided it before, but now it wasn't an option. Unless she did it in cornrows and she knew better then to try. She would never be able to get them tight enough. Shaking her head, she gave up and grabbing a hair tie, she pulled it into a high ponytail. No use worrying about how it looked, he would notice anyways.

Sighing, she got dressed in a pair of jeans and a green sweatshirt, thinking about it. Gunn, being the one of the very few people she had ever really talked to for the last three years, knew her almost as well as she did and would be able to tell on sight that something happened. Even if it was the smallest thing, he'd know and then he would ask about it.

Pulling her shoes on, Jade stood up and felt the slight twinge of pain coming from her knee. She had hit her knee pretty hard on the ground during her fight with the daywalker and was now feeling the after effects of it where a bruise was probably forming. _Lovely_. Wincing slightly, she walked down the stairs, trying not to be too mindful of her knee, lest Gunn would notice and ask about that, too.

They lived in an old abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. The inside of the building had been sectioned into two halves; the front half being their living quarters and the back half being the base of their operation.

Their living quarters were mainly the 'kitchen' and their rooms. The kitchen consisted of a portable propane stove on an old desk and a card table with two aluminum chairs. Their rooms were actually one room on the main level and a loft in the rafters with a set of metal stairs leading up to it. Gunn took the room on the ground level and let Jade have the loft, claiming to be too old to be climbing stairs. (Bullshit.) There was a small bathroom next to Gunn's room, as well.

The base of their operation was Gunn's workshop, which took up two-thirds of the space in the back and a training area that was for Jade.

Gunn's workshop was on the right side and had three wood tables which held numerous tools, weapons, and other 'toys'. There was a large garage door leading out the back with a smaller door next to it and two vehicles; an old white van and a dark blue 1968 Oldsmobile Toronado that Gunn had restored a couple years ago.

Jade's training area was basically an old canvas punching bag on a thick chain that was hanging from the rafters. There was another chain on the bottom of the bag that was bolted to the floor to prevent it from moving around too much when she hit it. A small table sat in one corner of the room with a stereo on top and a weight set was in another corner of the room.

As Jade made her way towards the kitchen, she smelled pancakes and smiled as she saw Gunn leaning over the stove, making sure they didn't burn.

Gunn was a tall man with gray hair and a weathered face, wearing his usual jeans, t-shirt and work boots. He kind of reminded her of a grizzly bear, big, but really sweet when he wanted to be. They got along really well and treated each other as family.

"Smells good." Jade said, sitting down as Gunn grabbed a plate with a fork and put a few pancakes on it for her.

"How did last night go?" Gunn asked, turning around to put the plate down in front of her and seeing her hair, frowned. "What the hell happened to your hair?" As she grabbed the fork, Jade tried to figure out a way to explain.

"Which question do you want me to answer first?" She asked, stalling and Gunn sat down across from her after he served himself, giving her a 'look'.

"What the hell happened to your hair?" He repeated and Jade sighed, still trying to stall.

"Apparently my targets decided to take a quick detour around the diner." She answered and Gunn narrowed his eyes.

"That doesn't answer my question." He said, looking like he was loosing his patience with her. Sighing, she gave up trying to stall and explained.

"Well," Gunn said, once she was finished. "That was the dumbest thing you could have done. You're lucky you got your sorry ass out alive." Jade looked down at the table, both angry at herself for getting into this mess and at Gunn for yelling at her about it. She knew he was only mad because he cared, but it didn't make his yelling any easier to deal with. Like it ever was. She hated disappointing people, especially him.

"Look," She said, trying to defend herself. "I know it was stupid, but I lost my ..."

"Temper?" Gunn finished her sentence for her with a snort. "You always do. I've told you countless times to keep a cool head. Your _temper_ is gonna get you killed."

Jade kept her gaze on the table, knowing that every word he said was true. When she had turned twenty, she had gotten reckless and had taken unnecessary risks. The majority of her training was over and while she still had things to learn, she had taken on the thinking that she was invincible. Last night had changed her thinking and she didn't plan on making anymore 'stupid mistakes' any time soon.

She heard Gunn sigh heavily, and then speak.

"Look, right now, forget about it. Just eat and hurry it up." Jade looked up as he said it and he continued. "I've got a surprise for you." She smiled slightly, now curious.

"What is it?" She asked and Gunn shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"Eat first, and then I'll show you." Jade went back to her breakfast, both relieved and curious. Relieved because Gunn had let her off the hook and curious because of his 'surprise'. "By the way, I like your haircut." Jade looked up in shock.

"What?" She asked, surprise in her voice and Gunn shrugged.

"I said 'I like your haircut.' "He said, smirking at the thunderstruck expression on her face and Jade shook her head, amazed but somewhat annoyed.

"Yeah, yell at me first, and _then_ hit me with that." She growled, under her breath, fully aware that he could hear her. "Jackass." Studiously ignoring his laugh, Jade finished her pancakes.

When they finished, they stacked the dishes next to the stove which was off. The dishes would be washed later.

Gunn walked towards his workshop and Jade followed him, still very curious. The feeling grew when instead of stopping in the workshop, he led her out the back door to the side of the building. They stopped in front of a large object that was covered by a large canvas blanket and was in the shape of a...motorcycle?

"I've been workin' on this for a while now." Gunn said and when Jade looked at him, he smiled pulling the blanket off the object, revealing a black 1996 BMW motorcycle.

"I figured you'd be wantin' a way to get around other then walking or using the van." He said when she didn't say anything. "What do you think?" The look on her face mirrored the shock she was feeling and for a moment she wasn't able to say anything.

"Where did you get it?" She asked when she finally _was_ able to speak and Gunn shook his head.

"At an old dump. The man in charge wanted one hundred bucks for it." He smiled, clearly thinking it was a bargain and continued. "It was pretty run down, but I fixed it up and now it's all yours. So what do you think?" He repeated and Jade grinned.

"It's great." Suddenly she frowned. "But when did you find the time to work on it?" If possible, Gunn's grin became bigger when she asked.

"Remember when I started sending you hunting on your own?" Jade nodded slightly, and then it dawned on her.

"Three months ago... and you've been working on this every _night_?" Gunn nodded, still grinning and Jade shook her head in amazement. "Wow." Gunn laughed and patted her arm.

"Don't look so surprised." He said, and then turned to walk away. "I'm sure you're gonna want to take it for a test ride. I'll get your helmet." Jade smiled as he walked back into the building and turned back to the bike, putting one hand on the seat. It was one hell of a surprise, but she appreciated it. The Oldsmobile wasn't so bad, but she hated the van. It was too big and whenever she went around corners with it, the tilt was very unnerving.

Jade was also pleased that Gunn had remembered what she had told him about her father. Her dad used to have a motorcycle and he'd take her out riding with him when she was little. When she was ten, he started teaching her how to ride and she became really good at it. She still remembered how and Gunn obviously decided to find a way for her to put the knowledge to work.

Hearing the back door open again, Jade looked towards the noise to see Gunn walking her way with a helmet in his hand. It was a full face helmet, emerald green with a tinted visor and she smiled appreciatively. Gunn grinned in return and handed it to her.

"There you go." He said, as she looked at it carefully and motioned to the bike. "You remember how to work that thing?" Jade shook her head and gave him a 'look'.

"Unlike _some_ people," She said, with a slight frown on her face. "I'm not old _or_ senile." Gunn snorted slightly, trying to cover up a laugh.

"No, I'm just getting too old to deal with _you._" They both laughed and Jade handed the helmet to Gunn to hold while she got on the bike. Starting it up, she grinned as it rumbled to life beneath her and looked at Gunn who was watching her with a sad smile on his face. Sighing, she turned the engine off and asked him what was wrong.

"Nothing." He said, waving the question off with one hand. "I'm just glad you like the bike." Jade smiled and getting off the bike, gave him a hug which he returned. Stepping back, she looked at him, still smiling.

"I do." She said, putting a hand on his arm. "It was really nice of you." Gunn shrugged and pushed her towards the bike.

"Get moving." He said, grinning now. "You need to get back into practice and you aren't gonna do that by standing around." Jade smiled and got back on the bike, but Gunn stopped her with a hand on her arm. "By the way, we've got a big hit tonight and I've got another surprise for you." She looked at him curiously, but he just motioned for her to get moving and she started the engine. Gunn handed her the helmet and she put it on, slightly surprised that it fit. As soon as she got the kickstand out of the way, she saluted Gunn quickly and sped away onto the street.

As soon as she was out on the road, Jade sighed and checked the bike controls, noticing that it was almost exactly like her dad's. That was probably a good thing, since she was somewhat familiar with it. She grinned slightly and turned her thoughts to other things, mainly the daywalker.

Jade had told him she would avoid him and she fully intended to, but that didn't stem the curiosity she felt. She decided to go visit Josh, the herboligist that Gunn went to for silver nitrate and essence of garlic. He had other vampire hunters as customers and Jade hoped he would be able to tell her something about the daywalker.

Getting through the city in one piece, she pulled into the parking lot where Josh kept his shop and turned the engine off. It was a small shop on the outskirts of the city, with a small garage next to it, which was where she could see Josh at that moment.

Josh was an african-american man in his late twenties with short black hair and brown eyes, as well as a penchant for jeans, t-shirts and tennis shoes. He was also just a _little_ bit taller then her, as most people were. At that moment, he was working on one of his various projects, restoring a beat up Lamborghini Diablo. Deciding she didn't want to know how it got so beat up, she revved the engine of her motorcycle to get his attention and turned the engine off when he looked her way.

With a smile on his face, Josh started towards her as she got off the bike and wrapped her in a hug as soon as he got close enough.

"Where have you been all this time?" He practically yelled and Jade laughed, pushing him back to pull her helmet off, then gave him another hug.

"Getting into trouble, as usual." She said and Josh grinned, looking at the motorcycle, then at her hair.

"I figured. I'm surprised Gunn hasn't grounded you yet." He said, throwing an arm around her shoulders and admired the bike. "Nice ride, by the way."

"I'm too good to get grounded." Jade said, and then frowned as she thought of the Daywalker. _'Well, not that good.'_ She thought, but didn't say anything. "Gunn decided I needed some new wheels. Don't ask me how he got a hold of this, though." Hey, he didn't need to know everything. Josh laughed and took another look at Jade's hair.

"Love the hair, by the way." He said as he starting steering her towards his shop, obviously wanting to talk. "I always said you should cut it. How did it happen?" Jade rolled her eyes as they stepped into the store and Josh finally let go of her.

"Rough night." She said blandly, taking a quick look around the shop. Still the same; glass jars filled with various substances and books scattered on the shelves. Not exactly neat, but it was organized as much as possible.

"Do I _want _to know?" Josh asked as he sat down behind the counter and Jade took a seat on a stool in front.

"Let's just say it wasn't my best night." Josh studied her carefully, then shook his head.

"If I recall correctly, you've had worse nights and you never came back looking like _that_." Jade looked at him incredulously, slightly confused.

"I thought you liked it." Josh shrugged.

"I do, but come on. I distinctly remember you showing up one morning covered in blood."

"So?"

"It was _your_ blood." Jade glared at him, annoyed that he had brought that up, again. She'd landed in some broken glass, face first and wound up bleeding all over the place. Josh reminded her of that every time he'd get the chance.

"Do you have a point?" She asked, frowning.

"What happened?" Josh asked.

"Ran into a group of vamps, one of them grabbed me and it was the only way I could get away." Jade said, scowling at the memory and Josh looked at her carefully.

"And just _how_ did that happen? You're not stupid enough to land in that kind of mess without a little help." Of course not; Josh had actually helped train her and knew her almost as well as she knew herself. To him, that wouldn't happen unless she'd been distracted and she decided to tell him the rest of the story. The part she was still pissed about.

"There was another hunter on the scene. The Daywalker." To say Josh looked shocked when she told him that would be an understatement. No, _she'd_ say he looked completely blown over.

"Blade?" He asked carefully and Jade frowned, though she was glad that she finally knew the asshole's name.

"You know him?" She asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, he comes here for supplies." Josh smirked slightly and Jade raised an eyebrow.

"What can you tell me about him?" She asked and Josh smiled knowingly, but didn't question her curiosity. Jade frowned slightly, it wasn't like she was interested in a relationship, she was just curious.

"He comes around every two weeks or so and doesn't talk much." She knew that wasn't it, but left it alone, mainly because he wasn't finished speaking. "In fact, he should be coming in today." Jade watched as he glanced at the clock on the wall. "In a few minutes, to be precise."

Jade felt the blood drain from her face when he said it and of course, Josh noticed.

"What? You scared?" He asked, now grinning at her. Jade quickly shook her head, trying to hide the fact that she was, indeed, afraid. Mainly because Blade pretty much kicked her ass last night, but she didn't tell Josh that and as far as she was concerned, he didn't need to know about it either.

"No. He's just not exactly my favorite person." She said, frowning at the wide grin he had on his face and glared at him yet again.

"Funny," Josh said, still smiling. "you look scared to me." There was a roar of an car engine outside, but Jade ignored it as she stood up.

"Think whatever you want, Joshy." She smirked as he frowned at the nickname she'd given him and backed towards the door casually, masking her unease at the thought of running into Senor Jackass again so soon. Hey, it wasn't like Blade knew or cared what she thought. Jade frowned when Josh suddenly smirked, but she didn't call him on it, wanting to get the hell out of there before you-know-who showed up.

"I gotta go." She said before she tripped and fell backwards, just not onto the floor like she thought she would. Instead, she wound falling into something warm and semi-hard and felt a hand grab her arm just above her elbow to keep her from falling any further, if she could.

Josh grinned cheerfully as he greeted the newcomer.

"Hey Blade."

'_Oh crap.' _She cursed silently as she regained her balance, with a little help from her 'rescuer' and Josh coughed, obviously covering a laugh. The 'coughing' stopped when Jade glared at him, although she had a feeling that Blade also had something to do with it. Not that it mattered; she was still going to beat the crap out of him for it later.

Moving so she could see the person behind her, Jade smiled weakly and got what looked like a glare in return. _'He's friendly.' _She hadn't really been paying attention to appearances, as far as height was concerned and she now noted with despair, that the top her head only came up to his shoulder. _'Is_ everybody_ taller then me?'_ She wondered, annoyed, though she did admit that up close he _was_ kind of handsome, but she kept that to herself.

"Blade," Josh spoke up, making Jade aware of the fact that Blade was also studying her when he finally looked at Josh. "I'd like you to meet Jade Alden."

"We've met." His voice was a low growl when he spoke, making her shiver slightly and she caught Josh's small smirk as he looked at her. _'Jackass.' _She thought, deciding she was probably going to kill him instead of just beating him up. That would take care of _one _problem. She wasn't sure what she was going to do about the others.

"I heard." Josh said, still smirking and Jade mentally promised him a very long and painful death; preferably something with white hot knives, that was definitely the way to go. Gut 'im like a fish.

"Is that so?" Blade looked at her out of the corner of his eye and Jade looked away, missing the small smirk on his face. Of course, Josh wasn't finished just yet.

"Yep, but for some reason I got the feeling that she didn't tell me everything, which is very unusual." Josh gave her the fish eye as he continued and Jade rolled her eyes. "She usually tells me everything. So do you have anything to add, Blade?" Didn't he just tell her that Blade didn't talk that much? What was that little jackass up to now?

Jade could feel Blade looking at her, as well as the heat rising in her face as she realized that Josh had figured out there _was _something she hadn't told him. _'Crap, crap and more crap.' _Silently, she begged Blade not to say anything; Josh was just trying to get a rise out of her, she knew and unfortunatly it was working. She _really_ didn't want Josh to find out about her temper tantrum last night.

Fortunatly, Blade didn't play Josh's little game and tossed him a black leather bag.

"Don't have time to talk." He said, all signs of amusement dissappearing from his face and Jade sighed with relief, grateful. Josh nodded and started walking towards the storeroom, pausing only to give Jade a look.

"Don't go anywhere, Pixie." _'Who else saw that coming?'_ Jade thought, now annoyed that Josh had given her a new nickname; Josh loved to tease her and if Gunn found out about this one, she would never live it down.

Realizing she was standing rather close to Blade, Jade scooted a few inches away and tried to think of something to say to him. She wasn't very good at small talk, although she didn't think it would be appreciated and because she was still kind of pissed at him for the other night, she might shoot her mouth off and get into even more trouble. Didn't want that...

Besides, she didn't even want to talk to him; the only reason she was there was because of Josh and she was going to rip him a new one when Blade left, if she got the chance. Blade wasn't the only one who could kick her ass, unfortunatly.


End file.
